Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Thank God that's over...

Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 29th May 12

On April Fools’ Day 2010, while taking over
as Chief of Army Staff, General V K Singh identified his foremost goal as
restoring the army’s “internal health”. On Thursday, in what surely will be a
frosty ceremony, he will hand over to his successor, General Bikram Singh, an
army whose generals are badly divided. Not even in the 1950s and 1960s, when
the ambitious Lieutenant General B M Kaul exploited his proximity to Jawaharlal
Nehru to split the officer community into pro-Kaul and anti-Kaul factions, did
India witness the sorry spectacle of an army chief publicly denigrating his top
commanders.

Where did V K Singh go wrong? Many argued
(including this columnist) that the army chief was within his rights to take
his government to the Supreme Court. This after the defence ministry rejected
his petition to adjust his date of birth, and thereby allow him another 10
months in office. But once the Supreme Court judges rubbished his case in
court, forcing him to withdraw his petition, V K Singh faced the prospect of an
anonymous retirement just four months away.

His desperate riposte was ill-judged from
the start. Soon after his setback in the Supreme Court, a group of illustrious
citizens, including a retired navy chief, Admiral Ramdas, filed a writ petition
in the Supreme Court that rested on the communal narrative of a Sikh conspiracy
to get General Bikram Singh into office. While the petitioners cannot be
conclusively linked with V K Singh, the evidence suggests that they were at
least manipulated by him. On February 10, the day V K Singh withdrew from the
Supreme Court, the general’s henchmen approached me with a detailed briefing on
“Operation Moses”. Reduced to its cringe-worthy essentials, this had Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife; Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh
Ahluwalia and his wife; former army chief General J J Singh and his wife; and
the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (every Sikh down the chain, you get
the drift?) in cahoots to get V K Singh out of office on May 31, 2012, when
Bikram Singh would be poised to take over from him. I declined to pursue these
improbable and slanderous allegations. Regrettably, Admiral Ramdas & Co
approached the Supreme Court, challenging Bikram Singh’s appointment.

Perhaps this communalism should not have
been a surprise. After all, the Rajput card was played without compunction
whilst V K Singh was fighting his date of birth battle. A group of Rajput
parliamentarians was dispatched to the prime minister to plead on his behalf.
When a proxy was needed to file a Supreme Court writ petition on the general’s
date of birth, the “Rohtak Grenadiers’ Association”, packed with the general’s
fellow-Rajputs, was conveniently at hand.

Sadly for V K Singh, nothing worked. The PM
politely reminded the Rajput MPs that the army must remain apolitical. The
Supreme Court, less politely, dismissed the Rohtak Grenadiers’ Association writ
petition. And the apex court, while throwing out the “Operation Moses” writ
petition in end-April, scolded the petitioners for communalising the issue.

With avenues closing fast, V K Singh
apparently decided to use his office to launch himself into politics. By
end-March, he had donned the garb of an anti-corruption crusader. First an
earlier interview was dusted out in which he described turning down a Rs 14
crore bribe by one of his senior generals; that was followed in short order by
the leak of his letter (still a whodunit!) to the PM warning about the army’s
poor state of operational readiness. The insinuation was clear: with corruption
below him and indifference above, V K Singh alone was a bastion of morality.
Last month, in an unabashedly political move, the chief travelled to Ballia for
a Samajwadi Party function to unveil a statue of former prime minister Chandra
Shekhar.

Last Friday, the outgoing chief proved that
he had lost any lingering trace of judgement. Sharing a platform with R K Anand
– a disreputable lawyer who the Supreme Court convicted for contempt of court
after an NDTV camera caught him buying off a key witness in the notorious BMW
kill-and-run case – V K Singh launched a public tirade against one of his corps
commanders, Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag, ironically accusing him of making
public a show-cause notice issued to him. Suhag was apparently being targeted
as the army chief who would take over from Bikram Singh. Earlier that day, V K
Singh had attended an ex-servicemen’s rally in Dharamsala, where he sat
listening as former Congressman Vijay Singh Mankotia flayed the government.

Fortunately, it is time to turn the page.
It would be a mistake to believe (as Pakistan’s generals are prone to do) that
the Indian Army will remain deflated for long. The young and mid-ranking
officers, and the rank and file, remain untouched by V K Singh’s shenanigans.
Bikram Singh has his task cut out for him: to apply a healing touch and to
visibly and conclusively bury the vendettas that V K Singh pursued. The
corrosiveness of the outgoing chief will itself make his successor look good.
Above all, Bikram Singh must embrace the virtues of silence. An army chief
expresses himself with tanks and guns, not in lengthy interviews on news
television.

103 comments:

Thank God for one more thing: the pontificating, know-it-all, self-appointed Army spokes-journalist speak on the General will also be a thing of the past. Time to think of some original ideas, India's defense correspondents!You guys have wrought more damage than the Chief himself by blood-hounding the top office of an extremely hierarchical organization. Just take a break now, please.

contradicting everything that you have been reporting recently. What gives? Please please don’t fall prey to the darkness, we have much hope from you as an actual officer journalist. Someone who actually knows what he is taking about. This article is clearly agenda driven propaganda. Please resist the temptations of dark side.

This sums up Gen VK's tenure. The caste card is a damage that will take time to heal. The leadership at all levels must address this as both young and mid level officers are prone to believe what is written in the press or heard on TV

I have followed your blogs for so long may be right from the start but i have to disagree with your viewpoint on this one. I would say General V.K. Singh was one of the best chiefs we had and had the guts to take on the system which we all know is deep into corruption. Many ex-army chiefs after retirement become governors of states and how do you think that happens, they just don't flaunt their political connections until they retire. Too bad Ajay you are toeing the " Army pure/sacred " line and ignoring the right of V.K. Singh of pointing out irregularities in the force.

Perhaps you should get the raw end of the stick after 40 yrs of service, have your entire career made to look like a waste, and then have smart asses like you pass judgements. Yes, you served in the past, chose to lunch in punch out. So keep it down. The chief is not perfect but he has done a yeoman service by bringing the absolute bullshit out in the open. You would be a fool of the highest order to think that the filth that permeates our government instituions would spare the army. You would be a bigger fool to think that such issues can be dealt with on the quite. Well it was in the past..see where it has bought us to now. Dont bother to respond ..keep your bullshit to yourself.

Most peculiar. You went from being an ardent supporter of the General to this complete U-turn. What has changed? Im not willing to place you in the same category as the Shekhar Guptas of this World. So perhaps you will tell me, did you obtain some new info that changed your mind? Whats up?

My compliments to Ajai Shukla for well analysed article. Gen VK Singh,placed his own selfish interests foremost,during his tenure. The immature actions initiated by him on rejection of his claim for correction of his date of birth,also poses a serious question mark on the selection procedure being followed for the 'General' rank by the Army.

Col - Tell us why is post of COAS so hotly contested. Why did V K Singh so aggressively pursued for extension and also why every effort was made to deny him extension.

If groups/syndicate against V K Singh can play below the belt game than it is legitimate for V K Singh to also play this game.

I hate meek existence, just because it gives you long life...but ask yourself what we will do with long life that is devoid of honor.

Amazingly we have all rules for COAS to follow, but do burecrates, politicians, ex-Army groups and Industrialists not expected to follow any dharma. Probably, because they are not answerable to anybody.

It has indeed got dirty and i think it will never be same again until guilty are punished even if be it that V K Singh is found guilty and punished. But his opponents & lobbyist need to be exposed. If his opponents are sukhna land scam and Adarsh society related than Col you are wrong side of fence....It could benefit you momentarily to be on wrong side, but above all Truth will prevail.

For someone who usually gets his facts right, this article is not only quite a bit off target, but also in poor taste. The SC judgement on VK Singh's age issue needs to be looked at - it is very clear that what was projected in the media (and continues to be propogated by you) is in fact completely in variance with each other. The fact of the matter, my dear Ajai, is that you actually have the sad spectacle of a Chief that is being 'forced' out without even a formal retirement order.'Op Moses' in the PIL was brought to the table based on real evidence, the Ravi Arora case being the main example of how JJ Singh had gone about manipulating the system. MG Devasahayam had reputed each and every point. It is sad you too are now taking the same stand ~ you are being communal by implying things and going wink! wink! If you don't get swayed by all the 'communal' nonsense that was doled out by Shekhar Gupta, then you would realize that the PIL is about protecting the Institutional Integrity of the Armed Forces and VK Singh is in the long run not the issue. I also do not recall the judges pulling up the petitioners at any point; you may be refering to the Indian Express editorial which again reflected the opinion of one Mr Shekhar Gupta who from his writings wants to be judge, jury and the executioner when it comes to VK Singh.It's easy to pass sanctimonious sermons about RK Anand. Sure, he got into a mess in the BMW case. But do read the book, especially the last chapter. It's an eye opener! Your opinion about VK Singh is your business, but the article suggests you are more interested in worshiping the rising sun than going by real issues!

Something is very wrong with your inconsistency. You say that you were approached for Operation Moses on Feb 10? Yet you have continued to strongly support him till recently, including during the tatra controversy. So, I wonder what incited/pressured you to do a u-turn. To stoop so low as to bring out the religious/casteism card? Its sad really that you, a retired army officer, is backstabbing a man who did more to root out corruption in IA than any other chief in recent past. Not to mention his efforts in force transformation.

One post whose spirit i wholeheartedly endorse. My sympathies were with the General during the date of birth saga and his brush with the "civilian bureaucracy". His behaviour in the last couple of months of his tenure and the last week (R K Anand UGH!!) makes me feel very sad that a glorious service is coming to such a sad end!

How low you have fallen Shukla! General Shri V.K. Singh has been trying his best to clean up corruption in army to his best ability. Be it Tatra, Sukna or Adarsh scams. CONparty tried to look for a single scam in his whole carrier and all they could come up with was a mistake by school teacher in the form. No corruption no black spot in his distinguished carrier.

"Blow with the Wind" is going to be translated by you as rubbishing his case by SC? Is this the level of your understanding?

If you are so upset with the charges of Bikram Singh being relative of PM MMS' wife or close to JJSingh, Montek etc. why are you accusing Rajputs only backing Gen. Shri V.K. Singh? Amazing is Admiral Shri Vishnu Bhagwat a Rajput.

Let's see if you at least have the decency to allow this comment being published on your site.

Boss, dont throw your credibility away by writing trash like this. Im not a soldier. Nor am I a Rajput. But im pretty disgusted by the way you've changed your tune. If you had a shred of integrity, you will explain yourself fully.

You ask: Did I obtain some new information that made me change my mind?

Have you read the article, my friend? Or did you come straight to the comments section?

The article very clearly states that I believe the chief was within his rights to take the government to the Supreme Court. But when he started attending political functions, badmouthing his fellow commanders, spending too much time on TV, and leaking documents to the press (as a journalist who covered this story throughout, few know better than me how many documents his side leaked!), that was when I became absolutely convinced that here is a man who is completely self-obsessed, who doesn't give a goddam about the institution of the Indian Army and who is using the office of the chief to prepare for a political agenda.

Mark my words. In the next few days, you will see this man embark on a political journey. In that, he will make an absolute fool of himself and be played for a fool by the sharks that are already circling the political pool waiting for a sucker like him to happen along.

As far as the Supreme Court rubbishing VK Singh's petition is concerned, you've apparently heard only the story put out by VK Singh's spinmeisters.

I was in court throughout the hearing, talked extensively to his lawyers, written in detail about the case, and I have seen and heard every word that was said in court. To cut a long story short, the Suoreme Court told the general's lawyers that he had conveyed his acceptance of the 1950 birth date on two separate occasions... and that it ill behooved him to now walk away from that acceptance. He had already achieved everything that an army man could aspire for and he should not now put forward untenable arguments for another ten months in the chair.

Then they asked him... do you want to withdraw your case, or would you like us to pass a judgment. At that point, correctly perceiving that the judgment would be entirely against him... VK's lawyers decided to withdraw and to declare victory to the cameras outside the court. I saw every moment of this from the ring side.

And, just for your information, I was cheering him at that stage, hoping that he would win. That was because I believed (and still do) that he was born in May 1951, not 1950.

But that does not excuse what VK Singh did after losing in court. He should have resigned that very evening. He would have had the whole country in the palm of his hand.

But he's got terrible advisors and awful personal judgment. Thank God he did not take this country to war. Given his penchant for fighting losing battles, it would have been a disaster.

1.The media ppl wrote for & against the General. But never wrote the true story.

2.None of the media gave the true picture about how his age row started. They never spoke about how v.k. singh accepted his age as 1950.And surely it was under duress...and SC Judges got convinced only bocz of that acceptance and threaten VK Singh to with draw...

3. Why didn't the media report even once about things done by General J.J.Singh.Even you didn't do...???And you held VK Singh responsible for communal divide...

4.He just brought everything out bcoz of the injustice met to him.

5. You seems to have problem with General speaking about his commander Suhag, did you even think once what did he do???taking the show cause notice to the media like a cry baby and also try to know why has eastern command delayed court of inquiry by 2 months... again communal point is raised but who is responsible Bikram Singh or VK Singh...???

Answer the above question....will see who is responsible for communal divide of that great institution....

But he's got terrible advisors and awful personal judgment. Thank God he did not take this country to war. Given his penchant for fighting losing battles, it would have been a disaster.29 May 2012 15:46

Unadulterated BS. You are a complete disgrace to the profession of Journalism, and can happily head to the laps of the likes of Burkha Dutt and Shekhar Gupta.

Good luck with the RS nomination and of course the Padma Shri you hope to get. You're absolute creep, posing as a journalist.

I think India is the only place in the universe where, if someone speaks up against wrong-doing and corruption, he gets derided by all and sundry. Shame on us. And shame on the people in the media who refuse to acknowledge the corruption that is eating into the very bones and soul of this country.

Mr.Shukla, the caste angle in your story is particularly disappointing. Completely unprofessional journalism. Can you say, hand on heart, that you really believe that the general will stoop so low as to use his caste for devious ends?

Let's see...a few months from now, you will look back and conclude that this was a particularly low point in your journalistic career.

And then, if you have the moral courage, you will own up and tender a public apology for what you wrote today.

VK Singh has proven his specious credentials. Irrespective of his previous Army record, he has chosen to raise a ruckus about his service DOB record. He has managed to damage the office no end, in his quest for 'izzat'.

His barrage against the gentle berating at the SC, shows his small-mindedness. He is eager now to play politics and there will be enough players who are willing to welcome him to their fold.

He should have been shown the door much earlier, but for the immense patience of the GoI. He is being elevated to the divine post of supreme leader by many. An Eisenhower he will never be, but more like the Generalissimos that have populated the Earth.

He is not a statesman, if any he reminds one of the ilk of a Richard Nixon, who has been known to have done a lot of damage in this part of the world.

The fact that the issue has been ascribed to casteist tendencies speaks volumes for the state of this country. Caste and religion, two yokes that have fettered humankind accompany India like chronic TBC.

So you would rather go to war under Deepak Kapur and JJ Singh? What is their legacy? - a hollowed-out Indian army eaten up from the inside by the termites of corruption? General VKS has exposed the rot in the system for everyone to see. Would it have been better if he "blew with the wind" and pretended that everything was hunky-dory? Whatever his motivation, General VKS has done an yeoman service by upsetting the applecart of the status quoists.

BTW he is acknowledged by the very best to be a master strategist-have a listen to his induction into the US War college. He topped the Rangers training. VKS is a top-notch soldier and probably amongst the best we have seen in the Indian forces. The transformation underway that provides offensive intent to the holding corps is a sign of a man that is thinking about fighting the next war and not the last one. If his vision is carried forward, the Indian army will be taking the fight into enemy territory instead of meekly defending territory.

Would you prefer to be bedfellows with the Adarsh and Sukhna scamsters, TATRA money-spinners and their ilk? Or join the fight for a more transparent and potent Indian army?

Given a bureaucrat went on record on TV saying the PMO had the Tribune run the anti VKS stories, your claims that the involvement of a Sikh lobby are communal and untrue, sound pretty feeble and naive..

Now you are denying the existence of the Punju lobby in the Army? The lobby which even eats up the careers of people of its own group who don't toe the political line? Go find out what happened to RK Aroras career and all those who interfered with JJs succession plan. Looks like after taking your ticket out of the Army, you let your bleeding heart liberalism overcome the rancid reality of what is going on in the Army today..Take a look at the previous IA chiefs, VP Malik, NC Vij, JJSingh, Deepak Kapoor, now Bikram Singh and Dalbir Singh Suhag...anything common?Regarding performance in battle, VK Singh had the guts to take on the system, I think he'd done have pretty good against the external foes as well. Compared to people like Malik and his disastrous stewardship of Kargil war with all sorts of casualties acceptable in the early days. And JJ Singh? A wannabe politician from day 1, his garment export stuff is also infamous.And I am not even Punju or Rajput but lower class Marathi manoos. Go think.

Nothing is more damaging for the Army than men being ordered to risk their lives by officers who have been promoted for corrupt considerations. We have already seen how Maj Gen Ravi Arora's career was sabotaged. It is ludicrous for Ajai to accuse people like Adm Vishnu Bhagwat of communalism.

If there is one man who stood against this sordid system, it is VK Singh.

Shukla shows his bhaiyaa roots again. How much did you get paid to write this article Mr shukla? I think you have enough money to make a few parks in your name while your filthy brothers are kicked out of every state.

Col Shukla, greetings!Right from the outset, this was a clash which had to be won by the Government of India. So what does that mean? You quietly sit and let the all powerful bureaucracy and politicians do what they want? I thought people fought for right and wrong, and not to be seen only in winning situations. Today you see VK as a man who has lost the battle, so like so often in our history, you quickly join the other side. In any case, even this is all crap - pro or anti VK. Why aren't you looking at the issue. You slander the PIL, but only today a review has been filed that suggests that the 'communal' PIL was dismissed on the basis of a doctored file. The Congo COI was mis-represented by the GOI in court as per a report in DNA. Yet you only choose to see a communal slant because three of the accused are Sikhs.In the comments section you say you were present in court and you spoke to all the lawyers. But have you read the Order? You don't need VK's spin doctors to help you read English! End of the day that's all that matters - who scratched whose nuts or said this and that in court has no meaning! The Order simply made one point. Why don't you read it and then tell us what you think!One thing you're probably right, no one likes a loser! VK will now get it in bucketfulls from the establishment once the protective nature of his office isn't there. Come 31st and you'll have to stand in line to add your two bit insults! But just remember one thing, the man has been proved right so far in everything he's said and done. Your article is not only uninformed and biased, it's in poor taste.Jai Hind.y

When the facts change, I change my mind, what Sir do you do? John Maynard Keynes.

Well done Ajai on admitting you were wrong. The man may be a good soldier, but was a disastrous General. The sad part is that he looks all set to join the bandwagon of Anna/Ramdev or somebody or the other. That an Army chief playing the caste card is not the final straw for most of the dimwits who have commented above is proof that there will people who will be asking him to take over the country too.

Mein Oberst, what the hell were you thinking, writing something intelligent, objective, and well thought-out? You just don't get it, do you? Your sole purpose is to make the uber-jingoes populating BaRF happy by writing exactly what they want. So to help you in this assignment, I have taken the liberty of posting a few tips here:

1. To paraphrase Sergeant Zim - when talking about any Army officer, the first and last words out of your filthy little pen should be "Sir". So it is always "Sir, General V.K. Singh, sir!" Exceptions include Gen. Deepak Kapoor, Mr. Avadesh Prakash, your esteemed self, Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal, etc.

2. ALWAYS disparage the CON-gress party (yes, that is how it is to be spelt). You get extra brownie points for referring to certain individuals in the party as Antonia Maino, Manmoron Singh, Constable Singh, Saint Antony, Dogvijay Singh, etc.

3. At the same time, you are strongly encouraged to sing paeans of the BJP and pretend as if everything would have been hunky-dory had that party been in power.

4. Always speak in ishaaras. It portrays you as a shadowy, knowledgeable, omniscient, figure who needs to communicate important information to a small coterie of your equally knowledgeable peers. Also, it gives you plausible deniability. For example, instead if writing "the general’s henchmen approached me with a detailed briefing on Operation Moses", try "Why did some people approach me the night after the incident, and what information did they offer? Quo Vadis?" Ah yes, the Latin phrase goes a long way towards enhancing the quality of your analysis.

5. Always drop hints of everything bad happening to the country as being a part of the Great Game, with powerful unseen interests pulling strings in order to achieve objectives so staggeringly insidious, they can only be spoken about cryptically lest they come after you. The ability to speak in isharaas would come in handy here.

That's it for now. I would suggest you print this comment and pin it to your computer as a cheat sheet of sorts and use it everytime you put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard. Else, you are a traitor, sellout, Paki, left-libber, islamofascist, useful idiot, and everything it between.

I'm a Rajput too and a staunch supporter of General VK Singh for the excellent work he has done for our army. I started respecting him even more after his attempts to weed out corruption. Does that make me a casteist ? :-sShukla sir, I didn't doubt your integrity you even after your ridiculous stand on MMRCA and completely illogical pitch for F-35. But this time, you have lost all respect and credibility in my eyes.

In Hindusthan to do something you should be in power. And I feel The general's birthday agenda not to achieve his self goal but to be in power for few more months so that he could do something more. You are forgetting something that he is the only Army-man who supported Anna's movement. You are right Mr. Sukla. A General looks good with tank and guns. But A general looks better if he think beyond Tanks and Guns. He is the bravest son of this Land. He has rights to clean the systems. he has the rights to expose all bad things as a Hindustani has. He is a Hindusthani 1st, a Soldier then. To do this one must have guts and he has. I respect you and Your journalism. please don't divide army based on caste by publishing articles like this. My country already divided by the caste based politics by F**KING congress. The whole Hindusthan reads ur article. SO please be a professional. I personally never expected such an article from a journalist like YOU. I have respect for my general V.K. Singh. He done something that no one dares to do. The country needs Generals like you Sir. I believe in your patriotism. Hats of to you My General... Jai Hind...

After your unsubstantiated and hatchet job of an article riddled with innuedos but backed up by no facts, I will no longer address you by title or rank since you longer deserve that measure of respect.

I look at you with disappointment and embarrasment. Good luck living with your conscience knowing that you willfully and purposedfully bismirched a good general's name after he tried to do the good fight by fighting against corruption and slothness and timidity of the MoD and the Defence Minister.

If I ever come across your articles again, I will not give you the consideration or respect but merely a passing glance.

How about corruption by Deepak Kapoor? He was involved (through his Military Secretary) in Sukna land Scam and also in Adarsh. Also he was involved in another land grab in Harayana. How about JJ Singh? How come he accepted a Governor's appointment soon after his retirement? Wasn't he rewarded for his closeness to his political boses? Is it OK for a recently retired Chief to take up a political appointment? Looks like the Punjabi lobby is trying to keep the Army chief position within Punjabis. JJ Singh, Deepak Kapoor, Bikram Singh, Dalbir Singh Suhag and so on.. So shouldn't the charges against them be seriously investigated. Something is very rotten in the MOD and Antony has done a very lousy job. Why is the government not releasing who leaked the Chief's letter to press. And why did Shekhar Gupta concoct the story about a coup? Why is the press being a tool of the government again General VK. I salute the bavery of General VK.

Your attempt at giving this issue a Rajput twist displayed very poor judgement.

I am a Rajput and very secular and admire the General for his great moral courage and sense of fairness and would have done so wether he was a Rajput or not just as I admire many non-rajput leaders like Gen Sundarji, Guru Gobind Singh and Maharaja Ranjit Singh. You have deliberately isolated Rajputs for unneccesary and unwarrented criticism. I did not expect a journalist of your caliber to stoop this low.

If Gen V. K Singh enters politics, He has my best wishes. He epitomises the best qualities of a courageous, honest, intelligent and decisive leader. What has happened to this country. Why does it not produce more men and women of this calibre.

Blowing with the wind eh Mr. Shukla. . The country is in such a pathetic state because it has too many spineless individuals like you. I am gald you are no longer in the Army. It is too sacred for the likes of you.

Its not about the individual, it is about the system. No one doubts the commitment of any general be it V.K.Singh or Bikram Singh.

V.K.Singh made right attempts with the right concerns. Even his attempts to extend his tenure was justified. As a soldier even i would have done that. If head of the institutional will not stand up for its ethics & integrity then who will.

Finally my appeal to Bikram Singh - General Sir, stop all those who are rotting the system with money & sex. It is a big security compromise.

Ajay you have stated facts but have drawn wrong conclusions. I was one of the first to read your article in the morning with my morning cup of tea. After going through the article I knew that your readers will not spare you this time around. Even the “Gen Shri VK Singh” types.

So many brick-bats? Your body must have gone numb. One more from me will not make any difference. However I will cast my stone not because I am a Rajput and also a soldier but because I was hurt like many of your followers of your blog.

Where did you go wrong? Being a soldier you did not support your leader. It is considered a cardinal sin. I always give example of Gen Musharaf in a plane, running low on fuel, refused landing rights on his own soil, left with no alternatives. Look what he got. His soldiers supported him. There was no question of betraying your leader.

Gen VK and Gen Musharaf had one thing in common. Both were commandos at heart. Gen VK singh will always be remembered as the most upright COAS the army has ever had. “Never in the history of our armed forces a general has taken so much risk for so few gains” (with due apologies to Churchil).

Even he got a raw deal fron SC on the DOB issue. The MS Branch was the culprit and not Gen VK. The MOD and even the honourable judges were criticised. I do not know if you read the article “No Honour your Honour”

Coming to the succession plan for the future army chiefs. Gen VK has argued that there can not be and should not be such a plan. Merit should be the only criteria and not seniority.

There has been many point by point rebuttal to your article from many of your readers. I do not want to repeat them once again. However I will like to assure you that it is not over. At least not as yet. I will like to conclude by quoting from a famous song “ It’s not over until we win” by Carl Klang.

That it’s not over girl, until we win. It’s not over till the last bell rings.It’s not over ’till the crowd stands up to scream and shout, Until the big ol’ friendly fat lady sings.And as far as I know there’s a ways yet to go, So we might as well hang tough ’till the end‘Cause it’s not over girl, until we win. No it’s not over girl until we win.

Ajay,The question still lingers, can the DoB be determined by a commitment made to the then Gen. under duress for securing legitimate promotion. Or the DoB will be determined by legitimate documents/certificates. And a fact as certain as DoB should be open to judicial interpretaion by SC By the way SC has not given any final ruling it has only threatened Gen. Singh to fall in line with Govt.

What has Gen VK Singh done wrong - took the govt to court? is this wrong or is it more wrong to suffer in silence? This is the only thing that you or any other detractor of Gen VK Singh can come up with.

Now, what did Gen VK Singh do right? A small list:-1. Transformation of the army,2. Brought the message home that the high and mighty in the army can and should be brought to book - Adarsh, Sukhna....3. Told the govt in uncertain terms that the army does lack critical items.(The letter WAS NOT LEAKED by Gen VK Singh).4. did NOT accept a bribe, when he could have easily done so, and saddled the army with 'defective trucks'.

We needed a clean, honest chief and we got one in Gen VK Singh.

No comments against Lt Gen Bikram---but, let's pray he's in the same mould as Gen VK Singh!

It does answer many questions raised by your article, but still we need clarity on 'Operation Moses'. May i request somebody from our desi media community to bell the cat and ask bluntly from General for more details on 'Operation Moses'.

Your acquisition of V K Singh being communal is quite serious and later or sooner he will have to answer.

That people may have a different opinion about the issue is acceptable. But the unfiltrated filth that some commentators have been expurgating, in their defence of VK Singh, shows how steep their fall is.

Learn to express your views without personally maligning either the author of this article or show your unfettered racial innuendos about the Congress party and its office bearers.

Your continuous bile is more suitable in the pure land to the West than in India.

i completely disagree with you over the issues put up by you. Though whatever happened has led to the armed forces getting a better say in decision making stands eroded. But i dont think Gen Singh is responsible for trust deficit between political class and bureaucracy and within the forces.

Its a well known fact that corruption is rampant in the armed forces but it does not see light, Gen Singh can be credited to bring these into light. Its a known fact that a lot of defense chiefs who made it to top were well connected, and did favors during their tenure and got favors after their tenure.I can certainly name a few defense chiefs from 60, 70s, 80s, 90s, and new millennium who have wrecked havoc on the apolitical, secular and dignified nature of the armed forces.

Dont need to take a look at the caste issue, just take case of what happened in Nyoma few days ago which surprisingly you havent even reported about.

Airji Gen Singh has brought out the rot that is seeping in, wont say more but just for example, except for 1 member no one from Gen Singhs family is now in armed forces; even next in line Bikram Singhs son is based outside India. Both are reported to be from families that have been in armed forces for generation but now they dont want the next generation to be part of it.

Armed forces needs urgent and proper clean up to stem the seeping rot. Hope you can understand

Agreed V K Singh might be partially right may be partially wrong is his deeds. He may have tried bowing out as a crusader after seeing the tide turn against him in DOB case. This is not something new. You have umpteen cases in the past. The great T N Seshan who is billed as the first CEC to clean up the election process was also a one time syncophant of congress party especially of Rajiv Gandhi. He was annointed as CEC recognizing his services to the party. But see what he did he launched himself as a crusader & that is how he is viewed today . His successors have kept up the good work. Now coming to V K Singh by his many topsy turvies he has stirred the hornet nest so that those succeeeding him cannot cover up Tatra & ARV scams easily.In the case of Lt Gen Suhag I do feel there is some victimization.

Anyway we need some good pro-active,influential,articulate & media savy general not the ones like Gen Thimayya (who could not convince Nehru about the impending Chinese aggression)or the 'Adarshwadi' (corrupt) Generals.

The only downside seems to be such realization comes to these heads at the fag end of their career after nurturing such a system throughout their lives.

Ajai, I don't mind reading what you write and I read it by choice and I won't change it that easily, however I would suggest a change and that change is about your presentation. If for readers' ease you could just ensure the difference between paid articles and real once, it would be very kind of you.

and As a matter of fact I've highest regard for VK Singh, because only a person like him can fight so fearlessly against the likes of Renuka chowdhary and her cohoots, the Sukhna Lobby, the Adarsh Lobby and the great Tatra Lobby, why don't you appreciate him for his fight against such corrupts. And why you forget former generals and commanders who either went on to become governors or joined private companies as lobbyists...were they any good...if you have courage and dignity then write on these points, why Gen Suhag is scared?? why he is involved in Sukhna and why We have a chief who is culprit of fake encounters??do you have any answers?? Mr. Shukla like many others you too are just a product for sale in this great Bazaar.....if journalists like you had not sold their "emaan" this country won't have been suffering for this long....tell me why you never write against arms lobby or corrupt ministers??? I never in my life called anyone a traitor and not certainly an ex-army, but today onwards I know one traitor...perhaps the biggest one...sad to see how money and power can influence those who once pledged to fight and die for their motherland....

We all have a sense of being wronged. The common man so often being at the receiving end of a poor justice system, brutal and corrupt police, self serving politicians (not all) not a fair world.......we compromise with it and continue with a struggle called life. Consider the fate of Gen VK, committed himself to service of the nation, dedicated his life to the Army,took on all the obstacles with steely determination and won till the very end to reach the pinnacle of his career or did he? When you have led an honorable life you expect certain courtesies from the people around you. I know how it feels when you go to the highest court of the land and try to make them see the injustices done....but you are advised to blow with the wind.....honor, integrity, honesty and life that has been led on such "principals" then seem farcical. It seems that indeed in the end Gen VK lost out not in the court of law but against the basic tenets of life on which he had rested his beliefs and may have committed a few errors of judgement towards the end. But as is famously said you require Sam,dam,dand & Bhed (to be read strictly in Hindi) against a timid, cunning, wretched opposition. My sympathies are with the Gen even if your story was worth its salt. An impostor like Dr MMS who is leading a govt that is bereft of any of the tenets as mentioned above, has met more than a match in the Gen.May GOD Bless him and keep him around till such time the nation realises the value of such wonderful people, selfless, dedicated and determined. Communal was KC SIngh who was just a couple of days ago very well rebutted by Maroof Raza. I though the Radia tapes were an eye opener but your article, I am sorry, Col Shukla, should be revisited in a few months time, till we realize that the medium we choose to believe, read and form opinions may itself be doctored and biased. Atleast he shall not be made to look like a fool like Gen Thimayya whose withdrawl of resignation had no impact on Pt Nehru & his cronies.

As a watcher who does n't have any affinity. I had few observations.a) Gen was within its right to go to supreme court. Though I doubted he would win for none win from government. (Vodafone case, ITC case)b) I am an Indian citizen and I have very little faith in its judiciary. To think its beyond corruption is foolish. There has been incidents when judiciary has shown special love for ruling party.(Indira Gandhi's and Narshimha Rao's example especially comes to the mind)c) It takes real guts for a senior official to go against government.d) In a democratic country everybody has freedom of speech and action e.g. press is free to comment, take sides and so do generals. May be this is the first time so there is a huge outcry.e) Adarsh scam was just one example . There are other examples where one can find a private property almost in the heart of cantonment with significant chunk occupied by ex-serviceman and bureaucrats who normal salaries cannot afford those prime estates.f) Silence is not a solution to curb corruption instead most of the time it implies support.

Nambiar mian, BaRF is a certain forum that pretends to honor the guardians of Bharat, but bashes any bharatiya (even one who has shed blood for his country) who goes against the prevailing view in the echo chamber the ultra-jingos there have set up.

I am neither of the brand referred in the comments. For convenience sake we all talk about caste when required.The Army is full of caste regiments,Sikhs,Rajput,Jat et all.All politicians practice caste based policies (inlcuding our PM)when deciding anything and yet when a General talks about something related to caste,he is criticised. Col you could have given him a better farewell.A General deserves that.Fauz is part of our society.When you can tolerate umpteen pblokes who have done mountains of wrongs, this General has done nothing wrong in comparison. At least he had some Courage to speak out, a quality which Army had in abundance in the past, but today thank God it's over

Wishing the outgoing General all the best for his retired life and hope he can now finish his Phd. thesis quickly and without any distractions like having to go from pillar to post ( i.e. go from channel to channel) to explain his side of the truth in this trial by media circus.

By the way, can our activist media also ask their govt. masters to please release the official history of the events leading upto the Indo-China war of 1962 in this age of RTI being the brand new tool for witch hunting.

Because history has a peculiar tendency to repeat itself and some patterns are already showing.

ColThanks for showing ur true colours.i m nt a rajput bt proud indian who is proud of VK Singh who have courage to take on whole of establishment for a cause jst like Abhimanyu in chakravauh n u r jst like jayadrath

Col - you are in cahoot with this crook establishment with only one prime motive to bring discredit to Gen V K Singh. Lobbies of Avdesh Kumar, Kapoor and J J Singh are far more strongThis is what operation moses is http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-21/india/31378717_1_arunachal-governor-institutions-on-communal-lines-j-j-singh

and you totally fudged information to create misinformation and i quote you "On February 10, the day V K Singh withdrew from the Supreme Court, the general’s henchmen approached me with a detailed briefing on “Operation Moses”". (Which Gen??? - there many of them now, masquerading as crusader)

First in bed with Americans over F-35 now with lobbyist of Sukhna land grab, Adarsh and Arms agent. You have totally discredited your own credibility.

Why Anonymous - we have balls Col, but we do not trust how this information will be used by crooks like you.

We love to be published - No mister, we want to be heard. We don't need you to be heard. You are an just an alternative but not the only solution. So keep you over-sized ego confined to four walls of your home.

i dare you to publish this and what other have said for last 2 days. With public opinion with Gen V K Singh you have conveniently decided to block everything, lest your ulterior motives be exposed.

It is funny that now even his ongoing Phd thesis is getting under the dark clouds. The lobby against him must be very strong and thinking in to great details and distances. The comic triad of the middlemen, receivers and their henchmen. Lol...

Learn to express your views without personally maligning either the author of this article or show your unfettered racial innuendos about the Congress party and its office bearers.

Are sahab Anon,

Why should we spare the Congress party? It has stolen Indian tax money, kept Indians poor and we should spare it just because you and the rest of the bunch on Sunil Sainis's maverick blog worship the Congress? Most of you guys are NRIs, will never return to India, so who's bothered about your hatred for BR Forum, support for Congress because for all practical purposes you guys are not Indians but foreigners and dont contribute to Indian growth or solve its problems.

At least Ajai is an Indian citizen and his views reflect the fact there is a section which can criticize VK Singh. Other Indians are disagreeing. Let these guys be and keep your political cheering to yourself.

The Army is a British old boys club that covers the veneer of its martial race fraud domination perpetrated by the british, under guise of fair play. The Punjabi lobby is an old hand at this game and still dominates the Army. After UPA came to power their antics became more brazen. Question is who will call them to account. Clearly not you, as you are scared of taking on the UPA.

I don't see why this blog post had to be 'objective' and 'balanced'. Blogs are meant to express what the blog owner desires to. He can also choose to exclude any contrarian opinions or views. That is the nature of the blogosphere.

But, having acknowledged that, what would distorting the events of the past few months achieve? Every one knows, there are camps within the organisation and these hold radically opposite views. So it is not very difficult to guess which 'side' a blogger or a commentator is on.

I do think, however, that the only counter to the decades long unabashed in'transigence and insensitivity to the cadre in uniform was the display of resolute firmness while sticking to the norms that we were all privileged to witness. One can salute that, silently acknowledge it or be outright churlish and unappreciative.

Its an 'Orwellian' world. there are the masters and there are the dogs; and there are the lowly animals... let an 'animal' step out of line and the dogs are let loose.. The dogs come in all shapes and sizes and inclinations... ever ready to please the masters...and there are also some animals that run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.. in this cacophony and bedlam .. the truth goes unheard...we need to contemplate.

Mr. Ajai Shukla - you neglect to mention that Gen VK Singh managed to get a reluctant govt to sign the deal for US howitzers that are badly needed by our antiquated artillery regiments. Credit where credit is due ? Or were you biased while writing this article ?

ajay sir, you need to be more pragmatic being an ex soldier, though you may not have seen any action in yr life being from armoured corps, but you need to respect sr officer with impeccable record and atleast he said something positive, the others didnt have the courage to do so , they are still towing the line of bureucrats , it is high time oofrs of repute should hold imp appts in the MOD and not let such controversies to come up , media has to be more responsible, pl dont do all this for meagre gains

>> Most of you guys are NRIs, will never return to India, so who's bothered about your hatred for BR Forum, support for Congress because for all practical purposes you guys are not Indians but foreigners and dont contribute to Indian growth or solve its problems.

LMAO... this one takes the cake. My dear sir, if you had cared to notice, you precious BR forum is owned by a foreigner, and the one moderator who wields tremendous influence there is a declared US citizen who builds missiles for America's military. And this gentleman also has the cheek to call a retired Lt. Gen (a former commander of the Siachen Brigade, at that) a Wagah Kandle Kisser.

So just before V.K. Singh's retirement and Bikram Singh taking over Shukla makes a scathing attack on V.K. Singh why not 6 months before, why not 3 months before , why not 2 months before, why not 1 month before.

Shukla goes on to comment about V.K. Singh "This man is going to enter politics." Why is it a crime to enter politics for retired army personnel? Is Jaswant Singh of BJP wrong to join politics.

Isn't it a personal choice for retired army personnel to join whereever they want. I'm accusing Shukla of joining the journalism for personal benefits, so he gets invited by american companies to US visit and pitching in F 35 for MMRCA.

Amazing neither jj singh nor deepak kapoor exposed any scam in arms acquisition, in fact they are suspect in scams but V.K. Singh even after exposing Sukhna, Adarsh (where now govt. has lost 4 files out of 16 files of the scam, an incident totally ignored by journalists like shukla) & Tatra deal is being accused like anything by media.

Suhag goes to media with 'show cause notice' but no crticism against him.

If there are accusations of Rajput lobby, then there are accusations of manmohan singh's wife gursharan kaur being cousin sister of bikram singh's wife, made by 'Chauthi Duniya' channel, what about that? Either ignore both, or mention both.

Now shukla has a blog to run and true to this saying "blow with the wind" he needs army connection and bikram singh at helm this will be a problem, hence attack on vk singh to earn brownie points with bikram singh.

Shukla being a journalist would you be bothered to investigate how french newspaper Le Monde had written 1 year before manmohan singh became the finance minister "No matter who comes to power in next govt. World Bank has decided to make Manmohan Singh the next finance minister."

Odd isn't it that Sonia Gandhi gives to false affidavits in court about her education, both a proven false and Supreme court judge says to subramaniam swamy: "Mr. Swamy be generous, these are old matters leave them." Ha ha while vk singh is ousted by false birthdate.

Special note to poster RTU: Mushy was artillery man, not a commando though he headed commando unit later, but originally he was artillery man.

To me, Gen. Singh was and continues to remain an honourable man, who had the guts to call a spade a spade. But at the same time, I feel that an outright dismissal of the arguments put forward by Col. Shukla will be trying not to see things as a complete whole.

It is repelling to see the amount of vitriol being spewed in the comments section - most of it anonymously.

While I hold no brief for Col. Shukla or anyone else, it is anybody's reckoning how many of these anonymous commentators are men in uniform.

There are uncanny similarities between the people making personal attacks on the Colonel or anyone else, with the Hindutva nuts who troll around right wing blogs and heap any dissent with standard epithets of Congressi, Commie, yada, yada. Both are incapable of independent thinking and have nothing to contribute in terms of a constructive debate.

Notwithstanding the almost everyday news of rot in the armed forces - and I hope I speak for all level-headed, well-meaning civvies - we hope that this is just an aberration and is not a sign of declining OLQ (Officer Like Qualities) in the men belonging to that last institution of independent India which is worthy of some respect and sense of pride.

Right from the outset, this was a clash which had to be won by the Government of India. So what does that mean? You quietly sit and let the all powerful bureaucracy and politicians do what they want? I thought people fought for right and wrong, and not to be seen only in winning situations. Today you see VK as a man who has lost the battle, so like so often in our history, you quickly join the other side. WOW Gold Kaufen